Friday, August 9, 2013

One Year Ago Today ... I Was So Scared


A year ago today my wallet was stolen and I needed to replace my driver's license because I'd just been diagnosed with cancer and I needed the driver's license for surgery the next day. 

And I am alive today. And I've been told I will survive. 

There are three cancer stories I haven't told many people yet. At least I think I have not. 

Here is one.

After that terrifying day before surgery, running around trying in ninety-degree heat to replace my IDs, on an empty stomach, because I was not allowed to eat, and after swallowing a noxious diuretic, I arrived back in my apartment, alone, because I am always alone, no friends, no family, and slumped in a chair, exhausted, realizing I wouldn't be able to do much of anything till surgery early the next morning. 

I turned on the computer. An email immediately came in. "How are you? I have am concerned about you."

It was the kind of message one likes to receive, an expression of concern, at exactly the right moment. 

Problem -- I had no idea who was sending it. I did not recognize the sender's name at all.

"Who are you?" I asked. 

She was a complete stranger. I had come across her name in a book. I had sent a query to her several years ago. She had never responded. I had forgotten the query, and her. For some reason, at that minute, this complete stranger decided to send me a kind note asking after me. 

My adventure a year ago today is here.

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